An Updated Body - But the Same Old Drugs?
Take a moment to think back, oh, say, five years. Then ten years. Even just last year. Have you changed since then? Has your body changed?
We are all older, of course. Some of us are taller – or even shorter. Most of us weigh more or less than we did. We may have health problems we didn’t have before. We might get more or less exercise or eat different kinds of foods. Our sleep habits may have changed. Few of us are physically the same as we were back then.
Yet many of us are taking the same drugs in the same doses that were first prescribed for us years ago. Even those of us who go to the doctor regularly, whether for a medical problem or a checkup, rarely ask about adjusting our prescriptions to accommodate for physical or circumstantial changes over time. But we probably should.
When our doctors first write us prescriptions, they do so using a set of circumstances at a point in time. They begin by trying to control our symptoms or diagnoses, of course. They choose dosage based on how they think our bodies will metabolize the drug, considering weight, eating habits, exercise and sometimes sleep patterns, too. They take into account the other drugs we already take to minimize the chance of conflicts.
But we all change over time. Maybe you took a drug in those days that you no longer take today, meaning a potential conflict may no longer exist. Further, some drugs lose their effectiveness as a body builds up tolerance, rendering them useless. Updated medical research may show that a drug that was helpful to you then, may be considered less useful, or even dangerous for you now.
EmPatients (empowered patients) recognize that it’s smart to periodically double check the drugs we take with those providers who have prescribed them for us.
Here’s how:
Make an appointment with your physician requesting a drug review. Gather together all your drugs, vitamins and supplements, prescription or over-the-counter, in their original containers or pharmacy packaging. Take them to your appointment. Ask your doctor, or even the nurse, to go through them with you to see if it’s time to make any changes.
Plan to make this review once a year, perhaps as part of your checkup. It will keep you healthier and may save you money, too. | 
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Trisha Torrey
is the author of
You Bet Your Life!
The 10 Mistakes
Every Patient Makes
(How to Fix Them
to Get the
Health Care You Deserve)
It expands on the articles found
on this site, providing an
exposé of the problems that
exist in the healthcare system,
and tools you can use to get the care you deserve.
....
Learn more about
You Bet Your Life!
|
